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National Security Council Communications Director John Kirby in the White House: "Still behind Israel"

Photo: Jacquelyn Martin / AP

The cancellation of an Israeli delegation trip to Washington is causing irritation there. "I have to tell you...we're pretty perplexed," said National Security Council Communications Director John Kirby. Kirby said the prime minister's office seemed to indicate through its public statements that the U.S. side had changed course toward Israel. "We don't have that." It also seems as if the Prime Minister's Office wants to give the impression that there are differences, even though there is no need for that.

At the same time, Kirby rejected various questions about whether the relationship between Israel and the USA - and specifically between Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden - had reached a new low. That is not the case. "Of course we still support Israel," he emphasized. "Israel remains a close ally and a friend."

However, he added: "That doesn't mean we agree on everything, and my goodness, we don't." But as friends, both sides could talk openly about their differences.

On Monday, the World Security Council issued a resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip for the first time. The USA, the veto power, abstained, thereby enabling the resolution to be adopted. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted immediately after the vote and canceled a planned trip to Washington by an Israeli delegation - originally requested by the US - at short notice.

Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi were scheduled to fly to the United States on Monday to meet with senior government officials. They wanted to present the Israeli guests with alternatives to a ground offensive planned by Israel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah - a plan that the US government vehemently rejects.

When asked, Kirby said Biden and Netanyahu had not spoken to each other on Monday. He also didn't know when they would next talk on the phone. Israel's military actions in the Gaza war are increasingly putting strain on the relationship between the two. Netanyahu's cancellation of the trip shows this once again in an unusual way.

Kirby said there were no signs "that the Israelis are immediately preparing to conduct a ground operation in Rafah" and that this could happen in the coming days. "It seems that they are still a long way from entering Rafah."

lpz/dpa